Mark Davyd

Mark is the co-owner of Tunbridge Wells Forum, a venue he founded in a toilet over 30 years ago. Since then, Mark has split his time between various music activities; he spent 20 years as CEO of the award-winning music charity Rhythmix, which used music to works people in challenging circumstances, from pupil referral units to dementia wards. He owns Outstanding Music, a 360-degree music company with a specialism in alternative Latin music and a portfolio of clients that includes Disney, Warner Brothers, CBS, ABC and leading US brands. 

Mark founded Music Venue Trust in 2014, a charity which works to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues across the UK. MVT represents over 800 venues, members of the Music Venues Alliance, and has campaigned to change laws and policies, to gain greater recognition for the vital work GMVs do and make them more sustainable.

Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a regular speaker at international conferences (ILMC, SXSW, CMW, LAMC, Eurosonic, Primavera Sound, Big Sound, Reeperbahn). He was one of the h100 winners 2015, won the CC Skills Music Award 2017, was NME’s Person of the Year in 2020. Since then he has won a number of awards for his work.